The field of the present invention relates generally to measurement probes, and more specifically, to a method of assembling a measurement probe for use in measuring a machine component.
Prior to being placed in service, at least some known rotor blades or other parts with internal geometry or with narrow openings are measured using measurement probes to ensure that that the blade has the proper dimensions for use in a turbine engine. Often, known blades are inspected via a non-destructive inspection technique to ensure that each blade does not include internal defects and/or cracks that are not visible to the naked eye. Accordingly, it is generally important to measure both the external and internal geometry of the blade.
Known methods for measuring a blade require two separate processes to inspect both the internal and external geometry of the blade. First, at least some known blades are inspected using one of computed tomography (CT) and/or ultrasonic tomography (UT) to inspect the internal geometry of the blade. A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) probe is then utilized to inspect the external geometry of the blade. Accordingly, a significant amount of time may be required to complete the setup and inspection process for each individual process of CT, CMM, and UT. Moreover, UT inspection currently requires a robotic arm and, therefore, requires a pre-inspection process to program the arm to accurately follow the contour of the blade.
Accordingly, known methods are generally time-consuming, not suitable for in-situ inspection, and/or expensive. Further, for CMM, a complicated blade geometry, such as a component having a deep, narrow opening or cavity, requires complicated setups and/or bending of the CMM probes to measure the cavity geometry. Moreover, for a compressor blade, the CMM probe must travel across both the pressure and suction sides of the blade. In addition, the CMM probe must compensate for CAD models and/or dense point measurements. However, probe compensation is generally a computationally complicated process.